Garment-supporter.



No. ss|,'o46. Patent-ed Nov. 6, |900.1

. H. FRANK.

.GABMENT suPPonTEn.

(Appliction Bled Mar. 7, 1900.)

(Nollqdel.) V

rus nanars FTERs co., PNoo-LTHQ. WASHINGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

BET'FIE H. FRANK, NEW YORK, N. Y.

cAFnvlENT-sur'PoRi-'ER SPECIFICATION formngpart of Letters Patent N o. 661,046, dated November 6, 1900.` Application tiled March 7, 190i). Serial No. 7,678. \N0 model..`I

To all whom, t 1v1/tty concern.-

Be it known that I, BETTIE HARRIS FRANK, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Garment-Supporters, of which the following is a specication.

The invention relates more particularly to skirt-supporters, and belongs to that class in which hooks attached to the band of the waist receive corresponding eyes onr the skirtband.

The invention consists of a liat strip of sheet metal or other suitable material having prongs or sharp-pointed projections at proper intervals upon its edges, adapted to be engaged in the fabric and bent over to insure a reliable hold and having vertical hooks,v formed by cutting the strip nearly across at the required places and forcing outward the material or tongue lying between two adjacent outs to a position in a plane parallel with the body of the strip, but slightly offset therefrom, and in sheet-metal eyesv also provided with attaching-prongs and having each a rectangular slot or opening adapted lto engage its hook on the strip. The hooks lie but little out of the planevof thestrip, just sufficiently to allow the eyes to engage easily, and by reason of the liatness of all the parts the supporter causes no discomfort to the wearer and when covered by a belt produces no apparent change in the su rface of the latter and is entirely concealed thereby. The connecting metal between the tongue and body of the strip is offset as nearly as may be at a right angle thereto and serves to prevent accidental disengagement by offering a stop to the interior lower edge of the slot, and in the most complete form of the invention the npper edges ofthe strip are bent rearwardly to form narrow lianges adjacent to the hooks and serve as additional safeguards against displacement of the eyes when in position.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification and show what l consider the best means of carrying out theinvention.

Figure l is a rear view showing the location and general arrangement of the 'supporter upon a waist and skirt. The remaining figures are on a larger scale. Fig. 2 is a face View of the strip after forming and before the prongs have been bent to position to engage the garment. Figy is a corresponding View of one of the eyes. Fig. 4t is aface view corresponding to Fig. 2, but with the eyes in place and showing at the right-hand end the prongs'of bot-h members bent to the position to engage the garments. Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5 5 in Fig. 4.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

A is a waist, B the skirt, and C the skirtband atthe line of junction between them.

D is a strip of sheet metal, thin steel, brass, or other suitable material shaped by dies or otherwise with sharp-pointed projections or prongs D Dl at the ends, theprongs D2 D2 on the upper edge, and corresponding prongs D3 D3 on the lower edge, all in the same plane with the body of the strip, but adapted to be bent at right angles thereto, as shown in Fig.

5, to pass through the band of a shirt-Waist and engage the latter reliably by folding down on the inner face thereof, as Will be understood. Near each end is a pair of cuts or narrow slits extending from the upper edge ofthe strip nearly across, forminga tongue D4 between them, which is forced outwardly by the dies either at the cutting or at a subsequent operation and shaped to lie parallel with the face of the strip, but separated there# from about the thickness of the metal.

The eyes E E are formed by dies from the same or other suitable material. They are of general rectangular shape, carrying a prong E at each end near the bottom and the prongs E2 E2 on the lower edge near eachlower corner, by which the eyes are secured to the inner face of a skirt-band at snflicient distance apart to match to the tongues or hooks D4 on the strip, with the upper portion free to allow easy engagement with the latter. Each has a rectangular slot or opening e, having a width and height sufficient to admit the hook and pass downward thereon until the eye lies flat upon the strip, with its lower portion be-.

low the junction of the hookl with the body and about coincident with t-he lower edge of the latter.

The offset of the hook at d4 is on a straight IOO line and as nearly as practicable a right an gle, so that when the strip and eyes are compressed by the ordinary belt (not shown) any tendency toward, disengagement by an upward movement is resisted by the offset, and

as a further barrier I prefer in some cases to bend a portion of the metal between the cuts sition assumed by the eye in riding upward on the hook, thus forcing the upper edge directly Vagainst them.

The supporter may be easily attached to the garments in the desired position Without sewing, and several waists and skirts thus equipped may be Worn interchangeably without requiring readjustulent of the supporters.

Besides the important advantage offered -by the extreme thinness and avoidance of protruding portions the supporter may be of cornparatively little Width and will therefore serve successfully with narrow belts.

If the strip be properly located upon .the waist, and the eyes, with their closely-fitting slots, correspondingly placed upon the skirtband, the garments when joined will always assume the proper relative positions and maintain them Without further attention or fastening.

The smooth curve described by the thin pliant metal increases the beauty of -the waist-line and adds to the comfort of the wearer.

The sizes and proportions of the parts may be varied within Wide limits to suit varying conditions or changes in fashions, and both members may be ornamented by enameling or plating, as usual. v

The flanges D5 may be dispensed with, de-

pending upon the offsets d4 alone to preventdisengagement.

I claiml. In a garment-supporter, a strip D of thin sheet metal, attaching-prongs thereon and rectangular hooks D4 D4 near the ends of said strip and formed integral therewith, in combination with eyes E E having attachingprongs at the lower portions thereof, and having the rectangular openings e e, matching to said hooks, said eyes adapted when engaged to lie within the margins of said strip and with the offsets d4 d4 joining said hooks to said strip lon a straight line and serving with said openingsas stops to prevent the dis engagement of said hooks and eyes, all arranged -to serve substantially as and for the purposes herein specified.

2. In a garment-supporter, a strip `D of thin sheet metal, attaching-prongs thereon and rectangular hooks D4 D4 at the ends of said strip `and lformed integral therewith,and the osets d4 d4 on a straight l-ine and at right-angles thereto,'in combination with eyes E E having attaching-prongs at the lower portions thereof and having the rectangular openings e e matching to said hooks, the said eyes adapted when engaged to lie within the margins of said stri-p the said offsets serving as stops iro `prevent the disengagement of said hooks and eyes, and the flanges D5 D5 on the upper edge of said strip adjacent to said hooks serving as additional stops for pre Venting disengagement, all substantially as herein specified.

In testimony that I claim the invention above 4set `forth I affix my signature in lpres- Ience of two Witnesses.

B. I-I. FRANK.

Witnesses:

FRAN-K G. STARK, CHARLES R. -SEARLn 

